Photo of the Day

Unreal picnic

At first glance this image looks like a black and photograph of a (somewhat staged) picnic but something is definitely not quite right! The faces of the people look a bit too smooth and the picnic cloth appears to be hovering above the grass, rather than sitting on it.

On closer inspection you can see that the photograph has been enhanced with paint. The brush strokes are clearly visible in the detail of the woman’s face. In fact all the main elements of the scene have been highlighted, although some elements such as the cable knit jumper on the man second from the left have received a lighter treatment than the face below.

This photographic print is an advertisement for Arnott’s Biscuits and the unnatural look is probably deliberate so that viewer does look closely and notes the brand of biscuit being shared!

About Photo of the Day

The Powerhouse Museum's Photo of the Day blog features a new image each day, chosen from the Powerhouse Photo Library.

The majority of these images have been taken by Museum photographers for a variety of purposes such as for exhibitions, of objects in our collection, events, behind-the-scenes and location shots. We also feature many images taken by our Flickr community and from our visitors. We hope you enjoy the photographs and stories.